Concrete conveying and mixing machine.



n. s. HUMPHREY.

CONCRETE CONVEYING AND MIXING MACHINE. APPLICATIQN FILED on. 25. 1915.

Patented Feb. 5, 1918.

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D. S. HUMPHREY. CONCRETE CONVEYING AND MIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION] FILED OCT. 25, I915. Patented Feb. 5,

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DUDLEY S. HUM:- PHREY, citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Concrete Conveying and lVTixing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a concrete conveying and mixing machine, and the invention consists in the construction and combination of parts substantially as hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointe out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, as otherwise seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is a sectional elevation on line 3-3, Fig. 1, looking rearward, Fig. 4:

1 is an enlarged sectional elevation of parts on line 44,' Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation of the rear or upper end of the conveyer mechanism and the hood thereon, and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, of the upper end of the said mechanism without the hood. Fig. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the lower end of tile conveyer mechanism and parts therewit v The machine as thus shown is especially designed for conveying a liquefied concrete mixture comparatively long distances and to possibly high elevations, as in building a house or other structure with mono.-'

lithic walls, floors and roofs, and one of the prime objectsof the invention is toprovide a machine which is capable of continuously mixing and maintaining a sustained movement of the mixture through the long distancesof its travel without impairment by I settling or hardening before it is poured into the molds or forms prepared to I'BCBWQ the mixture. Ufcourse, the concrete is supposed to come to the mach11 1e i a mixed state, as by any well known mixmg machine,

a of which there are many styles, and any consistency of the mixturemay be'provided to start with according to conditions necessary where it is received, as for pouring a column, or a wall having considerable width and to which the mixture is intended to flow and form in a solid and uniform state the entire width and from bottom to top.

Moreover, the machine is of the portable type, and to this end is erected on ac'suit- Specification of Letters Eatent.

CONCRETE CONVEYING- ANZD MIXING MACHI NE.

Patented Fen-5, tease Application filed October 25, 1915. serial No. 5?,6421.

able truck with wheels and adapted to deliver the concrete up inclines of varylng deframe 11, as above indicated, having carry: ing wheels 12 and a relatively long conveyer ,trough 13 mounted thereon in such manner as to be inclined more or less as to its de-= livery, suitable brackets or elbow shaped supports 9 fixed on the framell serving inthis instance as pivots therefor through the transverse shaft 15. The length of the said trough may be within. any reasonable figures, say thirty to fifty feet, more or less,

as the work mayrequire, and the said trough usually is extensible for the' higher elevations. Tts position as a to inclination is adapted to be fixed and'changed by a cable or ropel? connected therewith toward its upper end and constituting a portion of a suitable tackle or connection having sheaves mounted on the top of the elevated frame F, and primarily controlled by the rotatable drum D on frame 11, and provided with a crank to turn the same. A. cable 0 and drum dtherefor control theposition of said up A right or frame ,F and swing the same for apparatus the same comprise the true or ward or back according to the needs of the conveyer. a

The endless conveyer 14: is adapted to work in' the trough 13 and is carried by sprocket wheels 19 at the ends of the said trough and overidlers 20'here and there'and. is driven by. a sprocket wheel 22 located at one side of the said trough at thetop thereof on a shaft 23 which carries the'upper sprocket wheel 19, .andby a sprocket chain 2 1 engaged over a power transmitting sprocket 25 at the lower end of said trough .on a shaft 26 having its bearings 1n the truck frame 11. The said' shaft 26 carries a pulley wheel 26"which is driven by a belt from a smaller pulley wheel 27 driven by the engine or motor The said shaft 26 is so located that sufiicient slack is left to accommodate any possible difierences in the arc movements of the said chain and the trough respectively when the inclination of the trough is changed.

A suitable hood 7:. is provided over the discharge end of the conveyer and trough to prevent spattering of the concrete, and the said hood hasa delivery spout 29 at its bottom to connect with such other delivery means as may be deemed desirable and for the pouring of the concrete to the forms. 5 Usually I provide suitable tubular conduits Which receive the concrete from said spout,

' and these may extend into the formsmore or less to avoid too great fall of the concrete in its delivery and to' deliver it where wanted.

The said trough 13 is substantially semicircular in its carrying portion, as seenin Fig. 4:, and is provided with flanges along its top or edges, and flat sided extensions or walls 13 are secured upon said flanged edges and serve to give the required depth to the trough the said extensions or walls being secured through said flanges and constituting essential portions of the trough.

The conveyer travels between these sides and comprises the endless chain 14 adapted to run over the sprocket wheels 19 at or in the respective ends of the trough 13 and the blades 31 fixed thereto at regular intervals and adapted to sustain a carrying action without being turned back from effective working positions. These blades are shaped to conform to the cross section of the bottom or semi-circular portion of the elevator trough, though they preferably do not run in exactly close contact therewith at their upper side edges especially,and are straight across their top and of such depth, relatively, that the concrete mixture which they successively pick up may leak through more or less at'said edges and also cascade or spill over said topedges and thus cause agitation and admixture which, inthe end, will ren- 4 der the concrete more tenacious than it' 40 would otherwise be. Of course after all this back-flow from compartment to compartment past or by said blades the total effect is to carry substantiall all the material forward which the bla es' pick up originally, since the rate of travel is such as to give this result, and meantime the agitation received also keeps the mixture live and prevents setting and settling and separating of the aggregates.

The said blades also serve as scrapers to' keep the bottom of the trough clean and prevent permanent lodgment or accretion of small particles of the material thereon. However, something will of course depend on the consistency of-the mixture in the behavior of the blades, and a mixture that is possibly more than (usually saturated or moistened will naturally leak some past the bottom edges of the blades in their travel. This is desirable rather than objectionable, because it contributes to the mixing operation I find desirable in the conveyer and which is part of its proper functions.

It is evident from the foregoing that I 65 can work with different degrees of moisture not be used in all cases. It is therefore provided with curved slots at its sides adapted to engage over the ends of the shaft 23 and has an arm or extension 33 adapted to be engaged and fastened by a clamp 34 on the trough to hold the hood in working position. a

In operation thefblades 31 serve to confine and convey measures of the mixture in their respective compartments and to carry the same forward with contributed admixture as above described. The resultant concrete will have the density and strength and water tightness which an ideal concrete wall or body should possess, and by these means I can pour all the interior and exterior walls'and the floors, stairways, roofs and other portions of a building with smooth exterior surfaces and of water proof consistency. In this operation, also, there is no tamping or other hand treatment of the mixture, and all voids or flaws by air are avoided and the surfaces are uniformly smooth and compact. 4

It will not be amiss here to add that frequently the conveyer is set at an angle of 45 degrees or more, and that notwithstanding this angle .or even a greater angle a comparatively thin flowing mixture can 'still be delivered when a proper speed of travel is given to the conveyer and with a trough and blades or paddles made and arranged substantially as herein shown and described. That is, the tendency to excessive backflow is overcome by the sustained upward trend allcalong the line and a steady stream of greatly improved mixture can be poured at extreme angles and to extremely high elevations.

It will be further observed that the trough 13 is pivoted near one end of the truck while the frame F is mounted at the opposite end thereof with the said trough projecting through thesame some distance to an extreme distance in advance or forward thereof, thereby bringing said upright frame into a good sustaining position for the trough with the cable connections for this purpose.

What I claim is:

1 A mixing machine consisting of an inclined trough with rounded bottom, and having therein a combined endless conveyer and mixer, with blades thereon, the said blades and the bottom of said trough being of different curvatures and in close proximity at their lower ends; and the sides of said trough extending considerably above the top of said blades, all substantially as described.

2. A concrete conveyer and mixer consist- 5 ingof a deep trough inclined upwardly from its inlet to its discharge end having a bottom portion substantially semi-circular in cross section and substantially verticall? extending side portions merging into 10-sai bottom portion and means for progressively and intermittently feeding concrete ingredients forwardly and displacing the same upwardly and laterally in opposite directions along said curved bottom portion and then downwardly and inwardly along the same, said means consisting of an endless member provided with spaced transverse blades having their lower edges engaging the bottom of said bottom portion and its sides of approximately of the curve and height of said bottom portion.

. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of one witness.

DUDLEY S. HUMPHREY.

Witness: Gno. E. Kmonnn. 

